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OUST 



ECONOMY OF FUEL; 

ALSO ON THE 

lATili AND VEffllATIi 

OF PUBLIC BUILDINaS, &c. 

By HKISTRY G^KRISTKR, 



'^f 



CIVITl. ENGINEER, 



I Drawings and Models, sho^ving t)lie application of tins System in Fur- 
naces for different kinds of boilersj can bo seen, and all information ob- 
tained of ' 

I - J. E. STEVElSrSOK & CO., Agents, 

20® l^roailway, IKew York. 




I%ll1 



:^V^ 




A 



ON 



ECOiNOMY OF FUEL: 



Effected in a practical way by the perfect combustion and prevention of smoke, and under 

certain circumstances by a system of using compressed air for draught, instead 

of wasting the heat in the chimney. Proved by the aid of my 

^\^A.TER METRE. 



ALSO ON THE 



HEATING AND VENTILATION 



OF 



FuWic B,.ildlnss. Hospitals. Barracks. Private Dwelling. 

Hovtses, Ships, Railroad Cars. &o., effected by 

nay Coixipressed J^ix- System. 



By HENRY aERISTER, 

CIVIL ENGINEER. 

Dra-wings and Models, sliowinp^ the application of tliis System in Fur- 
paces for different kinds of boilers, can be seen, and all information ob- 
jtained of 

I J. E. STEVENSON & CO., Agents, 

"^ CK T. R. DAWLEY, PRINTER, 

Nos. 13 AND 15 Park Hew, New York. 
/ 




^ 



NOTICE^^-X^^ 



TO OWNERS OF ALL KINDS OF FURNACES. ' 

I erect, under my special superintendence, Furnaces, 
which, by the aid of the perfect combustion, will effect a 
Saving in Fuel over all existing Furnaces of fully twenty- 
five per cent., and if circumstances will allow me the ase 
of my Compressed Aii- System, I can effect a saving of 
fully fifty per cent. 



CAUTION and ADVICE. 

The several Improvements herein explained by the au- 
thor and inventor are, by Patents granted to me, secured 
,as my sole property. Every facility will be shown to 
.parties in need of my assistance, but infringements thereon 
will in all cases most certainly be proceeded against ac- 
*fCording to law. 

HENRY GEHNER, 

No. 20 BLEECKER STREET, NEW YORK. 



<^^ '^9^075 



INTRODUCTION. 

Considering the importance of the question of furnace manage- 
ment, and the amount of capital involved therein, I was" struck with 
surprise at the little aid it had hitherto derived from science. There 
is scarcely a process in manufacturing in which heat is not one of 
the principal agents employed, so that it may be safely said, that the 
question of consumption of firing, lies at the root of the cost of pro^ 
duction. Has, then, anything like the amount of intellect been de- 
voted to the examination of this subject of economy of fuel, which 
the magnitude of the interests involved in it, and its importance in 
a national point of view, render it deserving of ? Are the processes 
and appliances we have recourse to, the result of careful deductions 
made from a searching and scientific consideration of the question 
from an elevated point of view, or have not methods and systems, 
which originated at a period of comparative darkness in physical 
science, been continued from habit down to the present day, with- 
out adequate reflection and research ? 



Economy of Fuel ! 



TO OWNERS OF STEAM POWER IN STATIONARY AND 
PORTABLE ENGINES, SHIPS, LOCOMOTIVES, AND OF 
ALL FURNACES FOR MANUFACTURING PURPOSES. 

Gentlemen : 

Having returned from Europe after nine years' absence, 
being there engaged by the principal governments and leading 
manufacturing firms, in introducing my Furnace Arrangements, I 
am in possession of testimonials from these authorities for your 
inspection, to this effect, that I am the only one who ever introdu- 
ced practical and lasting improvements in Furnaces, and effected a 
positive and indisputable saving of Fuel, ranging in all cases over 
all existing Furnaces from 25 to 50 per cent., according to the alter- 
ations, the owners, on my suggestions, are willing to make. 

I am now prepared, having duly secured my improvements in the 
United States Patent Office, to erect Furnaces on my plan, and beg 
you to notice : 

1 . It is necessary that I inspect all Furnaces myself, in order to 
give you my exact opinion of which alterations necessarily must be 
made. This inspection must be made on the spot, and I undertake 
personally to make them on receipt of traveling expenses and five 
dollars a day for extras, which sum, however, I deduct in case you 
employ my services. I can, in this case, insure you full success, 
under all circumstances, if you act on my advice. 

2. You will effect a saving in the fuel you at present use, of full 
25 per cent, by simply altering your Furnaces according to my 
plans ; if circumstances will allow me to employ all the heat obtained, 
of which you at present waste a great deal in your chimney, 1 can 
save you full 50 per cent, of the fuel you at present use. 

3. The combustion of the fuel in my Furnaces is so perfect, that 
smoke from the most bituminous coal is entirely prevented. 



4. The several parts of the Furnaces I construct, including the 
fire-bars, Avill resist the action of the fire, and no renewing of these 
parts are more wanted. 

5. There is no radiating heat from my Furnace, and consequent- 
ly the furnace-room keeps cool. 

6. The stoker's duty is, by half, lessened. 

7. You wall obtain a steady heat and a higher temperature for all 
manufacturing purposes, and facilities unknown for keeping up an 
easy and uniform supply of steam. 

8. By my arrangements and advice, your boilers, reservoirs, 
pans, and such like vessels will be preserved from injury by the 
heat. 

I undertake to alter your Furnaces, and supply you with all ne- 
cessary w^ork, within a stipulated time, at a cost so moderate, that 
all will be benefitted by availing themselves of my services and 
experience, as almost in every case the outlaid capital will be re- 
covered from the saving of fuel in a few months. 

I also undertake to heat and ventilate all kinds of buildings and 
factories with an extraordinary small expenditure of fuel. My sys- 
tem is by far the most perfect ever introduced, as in winter a uni- 
form degree of heat can be maintained throughout every part of 
the building from one fire, and in summer any degree of cold, with- 
out draft. 

For further particulars, or any desired information please address 
by mail. All letters will be promptly answered, and consultations 
personally, free of all charges. 

Respectfully, 

HENRY GERNBK, Civil Engineer, 



Drawin^-s and Models, showing the application of t^j^Sptem?n Fur- 
naces for different kinds of boilers, can be seen, and all mformation ob- 

tamed of ^ ^ gTEVENSON & CO., Agents, 

200 Broadway, New York. 



A Selection of Testimonials 

FROM GOVERNMENTS AND LEADING MANUFACTURING 
FIRMS IN EUROPE. 



» .^ » ».. ^ < 

Extract of a Protocol dated October 26th, 1859, from the Director of the Imperial Mint, 
in Vienna, to the Imperial Printing Establishment. 
"Mr. Engineer Gerner's improvements in Furnaces erected here by himself, for all our 
steam-boilers and ovens, is considered by myself and all competent judges, to be exceeding- 
ly effective. The smoke-consuming qualities of Mr. Gerner's Furnaces are indeed aston- 
ishing, and the fuel we save may be safely put down at between 25 and 30 per cent. 
We cannot find, after six months' use, that any part of the Furnaces are injured by the 
heat, and the fire bars, especially, are not the least affected. Indeed, Mr. Gerner de- 
serves all praise for his skill, energy, and kind mode of leading our men, and his valuable 
services to the imperial Mint cannot be overrated." 

[Signed,] JOHANN RITTER von HASSEXBAUM, 

Director of the Imperial Mint- 

Extract of a Protocol dated October 30, 1859, from the Imperial Printing Establsh- 
ment and Imperial Paper Mill, is to the same effect as the Imperial Mint Protocol of Octo- 
ber 26th, 1859, after having tested Engineer Gerner's Furnaces, applied by himself, to six 
steam-boilers. 

[Signed,] AUER, PFOB, PLENGER. 

The Director of the Imperial National Bank, in Vienna, reports under 5th of Dec, 1859.: 
^ " Engineer Gerner's Furnaces under three steam-boilers gives the greatest satisfaction. 
The saving of fuel is at^least 40 per cent. 

[Signed,] LUCAM, 

Secretary-General of the Bank. 

The Imperial Water- works of Vienna gives Engineer Gerner, under date of 5th of 

January, orders for supplying all their boilers with bis Furnaces, and afier a lengthened, 

careful trial, reports, under date of 6th of July, I860, the Furnaces to be superior, in every 

respect, to all existing Furnaces, and effects a saving in fuel of from 25 to 30 per cent. 

[Signed,] THE DIRECTOR OF THE IMPERIAL WATER-WORKS, in Vienna. 



The Furnaces of yours, which you erected in our Sugar Factory, under our steam-boilers^ 
and Spodium-Ovens, gives us full and entire satisfaction. They are the means nf saving us 
from 30 to 40 per cent, of the fuel. We recommend them and your valuable services, 
heartily, to everybody who use fuel for manufacturing purposes. 

Vienna, June 20th, 1859. KLEIN BROTHERS. 

My best thanks are due to yon for the able manner in which you altered my Fumacea 
and saved me 30 per cent, of fuel. 
Vienna, August 9th, 1860, J. PARKAS. 

We save by your Furnace Arraogements in our Factory, more than 33 per cent, in fuel. 
Every manufacturer using steam, who can obtain your assistance, may consider himself 
fortunate, MEYERHOFER & KLINKOSCH. 

Vienna, August 20th, 1860. 

The Danubian Steamship Company gives report under date of July 21st, 1859, of the 
steamer •' Hainburg," fitted up by Engineer Gerner, wiih six of his Furnaces: 

1. The steam is got up in half the time. 

2. The use of fuel is nduced from 18 cwt. to 12 cwt. per hour. 
3- The smoke has entirely disappeared from the smokestack. 
4. The heat of the stoke-hole is entirely gone. 

6. The stoker's duty and work is by half lessened. 



The Imperial Snlpharic-Acid Works, in Vienna, gives report under date of July 2d, 
1860, to the Imperial Government, stating that Engineer Gerner's Furnaces at their 
works, are the means of saving 30 per cent, of fuel, and no renewing of fire-bars is after- 
wards necessary. [Signed,] RTIbSEGGER, 

EIBEN. 

Your Furnaces are invaluable. They save us more than 30 per cent, of fuel. 

Vienna, May 4th, 1860. NACK & SON. 

We should not like to drive our Paper-mill without your excellent Furnaces. The saving 
of fuel is certainly more than 30 per ceni. 

Vienna, July 26tb, 1861. NEUSIEDL PAPER MK.L COMPANY. 

_ May I add my testimony to the many you are in possession of, stating that I do not be 
lieve anybody to be found possessing your experience and skill in Furnaces. The Furnaces 
you erected in my Factory Droves this fully, f am saving more than 30 per cent, of fuel. 
Berlin, Febiuary 9th, 1862. H. L. VOIGT 

Your Furnace improvements are invaluable; we save more than 30 per cent, of fuel. 

HEUREUSE & BUSSB, 
Berlin, May 12th, 1862. Brewers. 

My best thanks to you for the admirable mode of altering my furnaces in my mill. The 
saving of fuel is fully 30 per cent. 

Berlin, April 8th, 1862. G. SCHUMANN. 

Your Furnace arrangements are indeed perfect. The saving in fuel in my factory is at 
least 30 per cent. 

Berlin, May 18th, 1862. R. WIGANKOW. 

By your able mode of altering my furnaces under my steam-boile)s in my Factory, I am 
saving more than 25 per cent of fuel. The stoker's duty is slight, compared with the old 
furnaces, and the fire-bars stands the action of the fire admirably. 

Hamburg, September 12th, 1862. J. J. PETERS. 

I highly approve of your Furnace arrangements in our mill. The saving of fuel is more- 
than 25 per cent. 

Hamburg, October 18th, 1862. SILLEM & CO. 

You deserve my best thanks for your valuable services in erecting and altering my Fur 
naces in mv mill. I save in fuel between 33 and 40 per cent. 

Hamburg, February 16th, 1863. G. BOTSCH. 

Every owner of steam-boilers and furnaces for manufacturing purposes, who values his 
own interest, should try to obtain your assistance under your stay here. The saving of 
fuel you effected in luy mill by altering my furnaces, is more than 33 per cent. 

Altona, May 5th, 18G3. MELOSCH. 

Henry Gernbr, Esq., Civil Engineer of the United States of America. 

_My Dear Sir:— You wish me to give you my opinion on your furnace improvements. I 
will gladly repeat here, what I in private and hi iDublic so often already said, that the 
theory of your furnaces meets with my full and entire approval. The able manner in 
which you are putting your theory in practise ensure the astonishing success I so often 
witnessed in furnaces you have spent your ingenuity on. You are indeed the master of 
furnaces, and you understand certain and suie to adopt your system under all existing diffi- 
culties. Your mode, to generate the necessary heat for complete combustion, and to pro- 
cure the exact quantity of the necessary air, is perfect, and your adoption of the Are 
resisting materials behind the fire-bridge, as a reservoir for the heat, to keep up the 
required temperature under all circumstances, is one of those happy contrivances of a 
thoughtful mind, who work with nature hand in hand. 

The several parts of your furnace improvements are masterpieces of construction and 
mechanism. Your air-regulator, your fire-door, and your fire-bars, fulfil to perfection the 
several offices they are designed for. 

In fact you solved the problem so many in vain sought for. The perfect combustion in 
the manufacturing furnaces, and a consequeutly immense saving of fuel, is first and only 
through your invaluable aid to be obtained in practise. 

Every owner of furnaces may deem himself fortunate in obtaining yoar advice and services. 

Your foresight, experience, skill and intelligence will secure a success never expected. 

My dear Mr. Gerner, take these opinions of mine as an expression of my full conviction 
and the high respect I entertain for your character, conscientiousness and knowledge. 

Respectfully and faitbfiJly yours, LANGHOFF, 

{ Royal Seal } Director of the Royal School of Polytechnic and President 

\ of office. $ of Society of Commerce and Industry in Prussia. 



CHAPTER I. 

The theory of combustion is now well understood by scientific 
men ; but as a practical art, it still remains at a low ebb. 

We know, scientifically, that carburetted hydrogen, and the other 
compounds of carbon, require given quantities of atmospheric air to 
effect their combustion, yet we adopt no means, practically, of ascer- 
taining what quantities are supplied, and treat them as though no 
such propositions were necessary. We know, scientifically, the re- 
lative proportions in which the constituents of atmospheric air are 
combined ; yet, practically, we appear wholly indifferent to the dis- 
tinct nature of these constituents, or their effect in combustion. We- 
know, scientificall3% that the inflammable gases are combustible only 
in proportion to the degree of mixture and union which is effected 
between them and the oxygen of the air ; yet, practically, we never 
trouble our heads as to whether we have effected such mixture 
here or not. 

The main constituents of all coal are carbon and hydrogen. 

In the natural state of coal, the hydrogen and carbon are united 
and solid. Their respective characters and modes of entering into 
combustion are, however, essentially different ; and to our neglect of 
this primary distinction is due much of the difficulty and complica- 
tion which attend the use of coal on the large scale of our furnaces. 

The first leadings distinction is, that the bituminous portion is c .•;- 
vertible to the purposes of heat, in the gaseous state alone ; while the 
carbonaceous portion, on the contrary, is combustible only in the solid 
state; and what is essential to be borne in mind, neither can be con- 
sumed loliile they remain united. 

The general impression is, that coal enters into combustion at 
once on the application of heat, and that, during such combustion, 
it evolves the gaseous matter which it contains. This, however, is 
not correct, and evades an important feature in the use of coal, 
namely, the order in which the gaseous and solid portions come into 
use as heat-giving media. 

A charge of fresh coal th owji on a A.- ,• -e in an aciive state, so 
far from augmenting the g•■'^■ '1 temperaiure, becomes at once an 
absorbent of it, and^the source ( iie vc^a Uisation of the bituminous 
portion of the coal ; in a word, of the generation of the gas. Now, 
volatilisation is the most cooling process of nature, by reason of the 
quantity of heat which is directly converted from the sensible to the 
latent state. So long as avv of the bituminous constituents 'remain 
to be evolved from any atom or division of the coal, its solid or car- 
bonaceous part remains black, at a comparatively low temperature, 
and utterly inoperative as a heating body, ~ In other words, the car- 
bonaceous part has to wait its turn for that heat which is essential to 
its combustion, and in its own peculiar W2^y. If this bituminous 
part be not consumed and burned to account, it would have been 
better had it not existed in the coal, as such heat would in that case 
have been saved and become av.-.ilablefor the business of the furnace. 



9 

To this circumstance may be attributed the alleged comparatively 
greater heating properties of coke, or anthracite, over bituminous 
coal. 

On the application of heat to bituminous coal, the first result is 
its absorption by the coal, and the disengagement of gas, from which 
flame is exclusively derivable. 

Combustibility is not a quality of the combustible, taken by itself. 
It is the union of the coQibustible with oxygen, and which, for this 
reason, is called the " supporter;'' neither of which, however, when 
taken alone, can be consumed. 

To effect combustion, then, we must have a combustible, and a 
supporter of combustion. 

Let us always bear in mind that coal gas, whether generated in a 
retort or a furnace, is essentially the same, Again, that, strictly 
speaking, it is not inflammable ; as, by itself, it can neither produce 
flame nor permit the continuance of flame in other bodies. Effective 
combustion, for practical purposes, is a question more as regards the 
air than the gas. Besides, w^e have no control over the gas after 
having thrown the coal on the furnace, though w^e can exercise a 
control over that of the air, in all the essentials to perfect combus- 
tion. But the hoio and the lohen and the where this controlling in- 
fluence over the admission and action of the air is to be exercised, 
are points demanding the most serious consideration. 

When we speak of mixing a given quantitj^ of oxygen with a 
given quantity of coal gas, we do so because we know that the 
former is required to saturate the latter ; so wdien we speak of mix- 
ing a given volume of atmospheric air with a given volume of coal 
gas, we do so knowing that such precise quantity of air will provide 
the required quantity of oxygen. 

If, however, by anj^ circumstance, the air we employ has lost any 
portion of its oxygen, it no longer bears the character of pure at- 
mospheric air, and cannot satisfy the condition as to quantity of 
■oxygen. 

We require ten cubic feet of air to supply tico cubic feet of oxygen 
to effect the combustion of one cubic foot of coal gas, but if this 
quantity of air does not contain this 20 per cent., it is manifest we 
cannot obtain it. 

Let us now inquire how far the ordinary mode of constructing and 
managing our furnaces enables us to satisfy this condition, namely, 
the providing unvitiated air both to the solid carbonaceous portion 
of the coal on the bars, and the gaseous portion in the furnace. 

It will be well here to pay attention to that which has hitherto been 
eo neglected, namely, the two distinct operations of supplying air to 
the gas generated in the upper part of the furnace, and to the solid 
carbon resting on the bars ; and, also, to the injury caused by com- 
pelling the whole supply of air to pass through the ash-pits, and 
through such solid carbon ; by which not only a deficiency of oxygen 
is occasioned in the air intended for burning the gas, but an undue 
and injurious urging of the combustion of the carbonaceous matter. 

It seems taken for granted, in practice on a large scale, that if air, 



10 

by any means, be introduced to " the fuel " in the furnace, it will, as 
a matter of course, mix with the gas and assume the state suitable 
for combustion. 

The opinion of Professor Daniel), of the King-'s College, England, 
deserves, as an authority, to be taken into consideration. He says, 
" Any method of ensuring the complete combustion of fuel, consist- 
ing partly of the volatile hydro-carbons, must be founded, upon the 
principle of producing an intimate mixture with them of atmospheric 
air in that part of the furnace to which they naturally rise. In the 
common construction of furnaces this is scarcely possible, as the 
oxygen of the air, which passes through the fire-bars, is mostly ex- 
pended upon the solid part of the ignited fuel with which it first 
comes into contact." 

In looking for a remedy for the evils arising from the hurried state 
of things which the interior of a furnace presents, it seemed mani- 
fest, that if the gas in the furnace "could be presented in films, or 
in a divided state, as it is in the Argand lamp, tlie result would be 
the same, viz. : complete combustion. The difficulty, however, to 
effect a similar distribution of the gas, is insurmountable. One 
alternative alone remains, namely, the air might be introduced in 
films or in a divided state into the bo( y of the gas. This process 
meets the entire difficulty of the case as to time, currents, tempera- 
ture and quality. By this means the process of diffusion is hasten- 
ed without the injurious effect of cooling, and which always takes 
place when the air is introduced by large orifices. 

Treating of the temperature required for the combustion of car- 
buretted hydrogen gas, is virtually treating of Jlame, which is the 
first product of this combustion. On this subject we may take Sir 
Humphrey Davy as our guide, as he made it a subject of such spe- 
cial enquiry. He observes, " As combustible matters require a high 
temperature for their combustion, it will be easily extinguished by 
rarefaction or by cooling agencies." This is highly instructive, yet 
the supplying these very means for extinguishing the flame are the 
characteristics of our mode of employing the fuel in our steam-boiler 
furnaces, and also in different other furnaces for manufacturing pur- 
poses. 

In reverberatory furnaces for the manufacture of iron, or other 
melting purposes, on the contrary, the gases arising from the fuel in 
the grate have to pass through the intensely heated body, or work- 
ing chamber of the furnace, on their way to the stack ; and this 
cavity becomes in reality a provision for subjecting the gases and 
the air with which they are mingled to an adequate amount of heat 
to insure their ignition. 

Not too much stress can be laid on this highly important matter, 
and losing sight of this, or failing to use the right remedies, is the 
reason why so many anxious and carefuFy conducted experiments 
in effecting the complete combustion, have proved to be total failures- 



CHAPTER II. 

Coals vary much in their component parts, ^nd in the proportions 
of these to each other ; carbon and hydrogen, however, are the 
essential ingredients of all. It may be assumed as a standard, that 
100 parts of coal consist of 80 parts of carbon, and 5 of hydrogen. 
Assuming one hundred lbs. of coal to consist of 80 lbs. of carbon 
or 5 lbs. of hydrogen, then since the oxygen is to the carbon, in- 
carbonic acid, as 16 to 6, to effect perfect combustion 80 lbs. of 
carbon will require 313J lbs.^2,527 cubic feet of oxygen, to fur- 
nish which, 967,26 lbs. =12,635 cubic feet of atmospheric air will 
be required — air consisting of 1 volume of oxygen to 4 of nitrogen^ 
or 8 parts by weight of the former, lO 28 parts of the latter ; and 
since oxygen is to hydrogen, in water, as 8 to 1, 5 lbs. of hydrogen 
will require 40 lbs.=473 cubic feet of oxygen, or 181, 5 lbs.=2,36S 
cubic feet of atmospheric air. 967,26 lbs.xl81,5=ll,147,76 lbs.= 
15,000 cubic feet of atmospheric air, required for the complete 
combustion of 100 lbs. of coal. 

And the products resulting will be 2,527 cubic feet of carbonic 
acid, 946 cubic feet of steam, and 12,000 cubic feet of uncombined 
nitrogen. We thus perceive that each pound of coal requires 150 
cubic feel; of ?ir !"or its perfect combustion, or in other words, for 
the conversion oT all its carbon into carbonic acid, and all its hydro- 
gen into water ; and ic musu be remembered, that just in proportion, 
as this proper quantity is deficient, is combustion imperfect and 
fur^l wasted, whilst the sonply of a surplus quantity is but a change 
of evils, and equally injurious in an economical point of view, since 
all the air which passes through a furnace without giving up its 
oxygen to the fuel, serves only to abstract heat, without yielding in 
return. 

It is commonly but erroneously supposed, that when no smoke 
appears at the chimney tops combustion is perfect. Smoke, how- 
ever, may be absent, and yet the carbon may only have united with 
one atom of oxygen, forming carbonic oxide, (a colourless gas,) in- 
stead of with 2 atoms, formings carbonic acid, and consequently 
have only performed half the duty, as a fuel, of which it was capa- 
ble, whilst the loss of duty on the coal, taken as a whole, will be 
upwards of 40 per cent. 

Hydrogen having a stronger affinity than carbon in the gaseous 
state for oxyg^en, when the supply is short, still seizes on its equiva- 
lent, and leaves the carbon minus. Thus, when coal gas (carbu- 
retted hydrogen) is ignited with an insufficient supply of air to 
effect the perfect combustion of both its constituents, the hydrogen 
is still converted into water, while the carbon, in different propor- 
tions, according to the oxygen present, becomes — deposited in the 
form of soot — converted into carbonic oxide, or partly intocarbonic 
acid. 

This great cardinal point in economy of furnace management,, 
viz : the exact apportionment of the supply of air to the wants of 
the fuel, so as to convert all its carbon into carbonic acid, and all 

(11) 



12 

its hyclrogeu into water, could be achieved with comparative ease, 
where the same conditions alwaj^s present in the interior of the 
furnace, so as to cause the quantity of air required by the fuel to 
be uniform. In this case the average rarefaction in the stack being 
once obtained, a steady supply would enter the furnace according 
to the area of the grate bar openings, the size of which once ad- 
justed, the equable and economical working of the furnace would 
be secured. The reverse is however the case, and the practical 
difficulty to be overcome in apportioning the supply of air to the 
demands of the fuel, arises from the fact, that in furnaces of the 
ordinary construction, this demand is not only variable, but fluctu- 
ates within very wide limits. 

Where a fresh supply of coal is put on a brisklj^ burning fire, the 
first thing which takes place is, that tliu coal softens and swells, at 
the same time absorbing- the heat from the briskly glowing cinders 
and cooling down the heat of the furnace and flues. 

It is strange that all writers of any celebrity on the perfect com- 
bustion question recommend, in this stage of the furnace, to let the 
largest and most abundant supply of air into the furnace above the 
fuel. It is manifest they are all in error, and I claim the merit of 
being the first loho showed the fallacy of such assertions. Owing to 
the cooling effect of the new charge, it is evident that it will take 
some time before the rapid gasification of the hydro-geneous portion 
commences, which, however, they all assert, is going on directly the 
fuel is supplied to the bars. 

This may be at once disposed of by experiment. Only a very 
limited quantity of air can, ivith advantage in the first 80 to 100 
seconds after coaling, be supplied to the furnace above the bars. A full 
quantity of air which is so confidently recommended and actually 
alwa^^s introduced, will have the effect of still more cooling down the 
furnace and fuel, instead of, as asserted, combining with the gas. 

It is likewise asserted, and also for years practised as the only 
successful, right, and scientific principle, after this fidl supply of air 
from the beginning- is let into the furnace above the bars, to gradually 
diminish the supply of air above the bars in harmony loith the grad- 
ually diminishing requirements of the fuel. B}^ what means this 
phenomena of the g-radually diminishing requirements of the fuel 
in this stage of the combustion is ascertained, is not stated. The 
fact is, that the " wants of the furnace " is in direct contradiction to 
the alleged " gradual diminishing- requirements of the fuel." Ex- 
perience proves that the arrangements for the supply of air should 
have been just the reverse to that which is asserted as taking place, and 
require a gradually increasing supply of air to the fuel inharmony 
with the gradually increasing distillation of the gases fi'om the fuel on 
the bars. 

I claim the merit of having been the first to ascertain these re- 
quirements of the furnace, instead of the hitherto as infallible as- 
sumed assertions. 

It is further, as a sine qua non of econom3^ asserted, that the sup- 
ply of air above the fuel should altogether cease after a certain time, 
say from 5 to 8 minutes after coaling, because after this time no more 



13 

smoke would issue from the chimne3^ As gases distil over con- 
tinually under the charge, it is quite natural that a certain supply 
of air above the bars through the whole charge is required, but I 
admit that a limited supply only is required or necessary. A full 
supply of air in this stage would have the efiect of cooling down the 
furnace and flues, and could not combine with the insufficient quan- 
tity of gases ; contrary, a non-supply would have the etfect of letting 
the gas escape nnburnt, and convert, to the great loss of heat, the 
products into carbonic oxide, instead of carbonic acid. 

In claiming this last part of supplying air to a furnace above the 
fuel in the right way, as the fruit of my experience, I think clearly 
to have laid down as a fact, that my predecessors have committed 
great errors in this most essential part of furnace arrangement, 
viz., the supply of air above the bars. 

The advice of a legion of inventors, to introduce a constant sup- 
ply of air above the fuel, is too rude and adverse to all common 
sense to deserve contradiction or reflection. 



CHAPTER III. 

The contrivance by which I achieve the complete combustion of all 
kinds of combustibles, from the most bituminous coal, Welsh coal, 
anthracite, cokes, brown coal, to tan or wood, eifects its object by 
admitting, firstly, a variable supply ; and secondly, a constant but 
very limited supph^ of air above the fuel. 

The stoker, when closing the furnace door after coaling, will raise 
a lever attached to the face-plate of the furnace ; this movement 
throws open a series of shutters, by which air will be admitted, 
through fire bricks perforated with long, narrow openings, into the 
fuel above the bars. The admission of air through these channels 
is, during the first 80 to 100 seconds, admitted in a very limited 
quantity ; in the following 5 to 7 minutes, this quantity will increase 
according to the requirements of the gases evolved ; and in the next 
2 to 3 minutes it will gradually decrease, as less gas being evolved 
requires less air, and then ceases altogether through this channel. 
The constant suppty through the furnace-box door, will furnish the 
necessary air, until a new charge is made. The movements of 
the shutters through which the air is admitted is worked automati- 
cally by the most perfect regulator, without the slightest aid from 
anybody, and requires no superintendence at any time ; it will work 
for years without any assistance or touching whatever ; only let it 



14 

be left alone and allow no curious meddling, and it will do its duty. 
The air in the ash-pit is constantly admitted, as in this place no 
restriction is, under any circumstances, advisable or necessary. 

All the existing arrangements for coaling remain uninterfered 
with. By this arrangement the outer surface of the furnace is kept 
comparatively coo], thereby preventing radiation outwardly to the 
annoyance of operatives, and also economizing heat. 

As very little stress is laid on one of the most important parts of 
a furnace, namely, the fire-bars, it will be worth our while to sift 
this matter more thoroughly than has been done before, and I think 
it is high time to know what dimensions and what shapes of bars 
are right and advisable to use, as all those now in use cannot, most 
decided^, be thought to be right, as scarcely one set of bars is simi- 
lar to another in shape, thickness, or length. 

The office of the bars in the furnace is to bear the fuel placed on.!- 
them. Any more strength, or bars made to bear tons instead of" 
pounds is utterly against reason and common sense. It was generally 
thought, and is still thought, that a thick bar would resist the action 
of the fire far ^better than a thin one ; and bars from 1 inch up to 2 or 
3 inches are consequently used ; but finding in practise that the thick 
bar would not stand, thin bars were suggested and tried, but strange 
enough these also failed. The consequence is, that all kinds of bars 
are made and used, and no certain rule is applied either to thickness, 
length, opening between the bars, or shape ; consequently, the en- 
gineer and manufacturer are entirely in darkness upon this most im- 
portant subject. 

Now, solving this question is in reality as simple a matter as it 
was for Columbus to make his egg stand, and people seeing my bars 
exposed to the fiercest fire for years, without finding any perceptible 
change or injury to them, generally exclaim, " It is strange that we 
have not thought of the same, and seen how faulty our bars were 
constructed." 

Now the bar which I always use, under all circumstances and for 
any kind of fuel, is one 18 inches long by J inch thick, allowing a 
space of i of an inch between the bars. The bar is made of the 
same thickness throughout, with a square groove in the top, pierced 
with i of an inch holes on both sides. The reason why this bar 
will stand the action of the fire and others not, and at the same time 
completely fulfilling the important office of letting the air, in the 
most divided state, into the fuel, are these : A larger bar than 18 
inches will curve and twist ; and a bar still 18 inches, but unequal in 
iron throughout, will, under expansion and contraction, be liable to 
the same injury. A thicker bar than i an inch will not cool suffi- 
ciently, so as not to be destroyed, in time ; and more than i of an 
inch space between the bars will let in films of air too thick^ and 
allow the small coal to fall through ; a less space will not allow suf- 
ficient air to enter, thereby preventing complete combustion, and 
heating and destroying the bar. 

And still all these important points being secured are insufficient 
in every furnace where coal is used, if the square in the top, pierced 



15 

with holes, is not introduced in the bar. The important service of 
these grooves and the holes is to the effect that no clinker can be 
formed on the top of the bar adhering to the same, thereby destroy- 
ing it in time. 

In claiming the merit of being the first who constructed an in- 
destructable fire-bar, I became the friend of the proprietors of fur- 
naces, who ceased to give eternal orders for fire-bars, to the dis- 
interest of the iron-founders. 

It will be remembered I pointed out in the preceding pages, the 
nec-essit}^ of maintaining the temperature in the furnaces. I will 
here repeat, and wish it to be borne in mind, that so long as this 
essential question is overlooked, and the right remedies to counter- 
balance the cooling effects of most of the manufacturing furnaces 
-are not applied, all exertions in furnace improvement will prove to 
be entirely useless. 

It is manifest that if by any cooling agency the temperature in a 
furnace should be reduced below that of ascension or kindling — the 
effect is the same — the succession is broken, and the continuousness 
of the flame ceases ; as when we blow strongly on the flame of a 
candle, by which we so cool down the atoms of g-as that they be- 
come too cold for ignition, and pass away in a grey-colored vapour ; 
but which, by coming into contact with a lighted taper, may again 
be ignited and the succession restored. 

This is precisely what takes place in a furnace, over which a boiler 
is placed for generating- steam, or any other vessel or body, kept by 
influence of water, fluids, steam or air, at a low temperature, com- 
pared with the flame. The flame will flash over the fire-bridge, but 
then will suddenl}^ be cut short, in coming into contact with the 
cooling agency. 

Now if the flame in such cases can be maintained until it has de- 
veloped itself, this cutting short or extinguishing cannot take place. 

In order to ensure this most important point under all circum- 
stances and under all stages of the fire, the flame must not be allow- 
ed to come in contact with the cooling agency before the full de- 
velopment has taken place ; on the contrary, the heat of the flame 
should be maintained for a run of 4 to 6 feet from the bridge, 
through the medium of a fire-resisting body, which will take up the 
heat and always maintain the temperature required for ignition. 

It appears that so celebrated an author as Peclet, had a notion of 
the necessity of such contrivances ; his suggestion is, to sift the 
flame through a porous body, and recommends pumice stone, which 
was actually tried in France. It would have been easy to have fore- 
told that this could not answer for several reasons. 

The contrivances by which I obtain the object sought for in a 
practical way, is, by the aid of a number of fire-brick partitions, 
placed behind the fire-bridge of the furnace, in a sloping position ; 
and at certain intervals between each other. 

This fire-brick partition, through which the flame from the furnace 
must pass in a divided state before it comes into contact with the 
boiler or cooling agency, is rendering, apait from the important 



16 

office of not allowing the extinguishing- of the flame niKier any stage 
of the combustion, other valuable services, viz. : Firstly, the high 
temperature maintained by the partitions in the furnace and behind 
the fire-bridge improves the draft ; secondly, the partitions, taking a 
long time to cool, either after the fire is extinguished or the fire-door 
left open, will not allow the boiler to cool so quickl}", which injures 
the plates by sudden contraction ; thirdly, the generation of steam 
and the boiling of fluids will be more constant and not liable to^ 
sudden rise or fall, now experienced in all such vessels ; fourthly, 
the ashes of the fuel, at present carried over with the draft into the 
flues, remain between the partitions, where it can be extracted any 
time with the greatest ease through the ash-pit. 



CHAPTER IV. 

To produce rapid combustion and intense heat in a furnace, it is 
necessary for the fuel to be rapidly supplied with air ; a current of 
air must, in fact, be kept constantly rushing through it, which may 
be effected in two ways : either by allowing the products of combus- 
tion to pass into the chimney at a sufficiently higher temperature, to 
produce by their rarefaction a partial vacuum adequate to cause the 
requisite current of air through the fuel by atmosperic pressure, or 
03^ compressing the air by some mechanical appliance, and by such 
means force it through the fuel. 

The plan of keepnig up the draft through a fire by the aid of a 
chimney as a question of economy, is only allowable where slow 
combustion is required, and no use whatever can be made of the 
escaping heat ; w^henever, on the contrary, rapid combustion and in- 
tense heat are a desideratum, as in all manufacturing furnaces, 
where the heat, in one way or the other, always may be employed, 
such a system can only be carried out by an enormous waste of 
fuel. 

Many collateral advantages are attendant on the use of compress- 
ed air, instead of the wasteful system now employed, by habit 
brought into general practice ; it gives a perfect control over the 
action of the furnace and enable us to utihze the escaping heat to the 
fullest extent. How enormous now the loss is shows the fact, that 
in several steam-engines, where an intense draft is kept up through 
the stack, the consumption of fuel is 25 per cent, more than that of 
those where the products of combustion are reduced to a lower tem- 
perature before entering the chimney. Trying to get rid of this loss 
in some way or other without restoring the only right one, the use 



17 

of ccmpressed air, thereby utilizing the heat, and still keeping up- 
the draught, has been and is in the present day a source of much 
fruitless labor, and as unattainable as perpetual motion. 

My mode of employing compressed air for eflecting the perfect 
combustion of the fuel, and utilizing all the heat generated by any 
quality and quantity of fuel for all and every purpose where heat is 
used in any kind of manufacturing furnaces, is essentially different 
in result to any attempt ever made in this direction. I compress the 
air by the aid of the cheapest and most convenient appliance, a fan 
(blower) on improved principles, requiring in proportion to any other 
means, the slightest power giving the largest force. I divide the 
air through pipes, partly into the closed ash-pit, giving a constant 
supply according to the want, more or less, by simply turning a 
damper, and partly into the furnace above the bars in front and sides 
through perforated fire-bricks. The supply of air let in above the 
bars into the furnace is by the aid of the self-acting regulator, made 
to vary according to the requirements of the fuel, by the rnles laid 
down on this subject and minutely described in chapter 11. in this 
essay. 

The heat generated is, by the aid of this system, led in any direc- 
tion and utilized in any way desirable, w^ithont the necessity of direc- 
ting any part of such heat into any stack or chimney for creating a 
draught. Any outlet, however low or elevated from the surface, is- 
quite sufficient to let the cooled, invisible products of combustion 
pass off into the atmosphere ; the pressure of the compressed air 
will propel it in any direction or in any length of current desirable^ 
The results are so surprising that it must strike anybody, conversant 
with the matter, with the highest admiration, how wisely and scien- 
tifically the laws of nature are here studied and brought into effect. 
It is not a trifling matter here gained ; it is not the question of a 
clever invention or an interesting discovery ; it is a bonus given to 
all, to governments and to individuals, counted by millions and mil- 
1 ions of money in saving, of the all important medium of all our 
p owers, heat, and its representative, "fuel. The owners of small 
steam-power know what their daily outlay is in fuel, and the large 
manufacturers coimt together the yearly coal bill, surprised at the 
high figure. The large item, for all manufacturing purposes in all 
moving power, is the fuel ; what enormous sums of money are not 
the railroad companies, the steamship companies, and the govern- 
ment navies,^ compelled to pay for this mighty agent ? 

I have here shown the means to save the half of this enormous, 
amount by my careful investigation of the laws of nature, and by 
my untiring efforts of bringing this into practical operation ; let, then,, 
every man concerned, who values his own interests, and is able tO' 
discern scientific and practical truth from problematic proposals and 
inexperienced trials — pause, investigate, and then ask for my advice, 
experience and assistance", which being cordially asked for will be 
as cordially given. 



MY PATENT WATER METRE, 

For Water, and All Kinds of Hot and Cold Fluids. 



The pressing wants for ascertaining in a reliable, simple, and 
convenient way, the exact quantity of water evaporated in steam 
boilers, or vessels for boiling fluids of any kind, and thereby estab- 
lishing the exact per centage in saving, before and after my furnace 
improvements were introduced, induced me to try the several pro" 
posed systems of water metres. 

It is well known that the want of a perfect water metre has in- 
duced a number of inventors in several countries, especially here and 
in England, to spend their ingenuity on this subject, and it is also 
well known that the same has been a stumbling-block up to the pre- 
sent time. 

I took the matter into my hands, and by avoiding the faults com- 
mitted by others, and experimenting on different principles, I at last 
succeeded in solving the question. 

I now introduce, for the benefit of all concerned, private individuals 
as well as water companies, a reliable, cheap, and easily adjusted 
metre, which, under a-11 circumstances, whether with hot or ^cold 
water, or fluids of any kind, requiring to be measured automatically, 
will be found to answer the object sought for. It measures off the 
exact quantity of the fluid passed through it, no matter under what 
pressure, or however irregular the flow may be ; no heat can affect 
it, neither can it be clogged up by impurities of any kind. 



On Heating & Ventilation. 



CHAPTER I. 

The subject of ventilation is so closely connected with that of 
heating that it is difficult to consider them apart. Fifteen times per 
minute does man inhale the breath of life and discharge it from his 
lungs, shorn of one fourth part of its oxygen, with the quantity of 
carbonic acid increased more than a hundred fold. 

The air escaping from a crowded apartment is of so deleterious a 
nature that it is dangerous to breathe it even for a short space of 
time, and pure water through which it has passed becomes putrid. 

In the close, overcrowded habitations of the poor, it is this nox- 
ious animal emanation from the breath, combined with that of the 
perspiration, which becoming condensed upon the walls and furni- 
ture, imparts to such apartments their peculiar sickly, noisome and 
foeted odour, giving origin to fevers, and producing a lowering of 
the tone of all the vital functions, predisposing the occupants to the 
attack of disease in general. 

If this description is less applicable to the dwellings of other 
classes of society, it is more on account of the larger size of their 
rooms than from the adoption of any systematic plan of ventilation ; 
and if they do not ofi'end our olifactory organs on entrance, they are 
nevertheless devoid of that freshness and sweetness which only 
ample ventilation can impart, and the health of the inmates is want- 
ing in vigour and elasticity. 

Each individual requires a sixth of a cubic foot of pure air per 
minute, and taking into consideration that the amount of mixing with 
impure air in crowded apartments renders 4 cubic feet per minute 
necessar}^ for each individual, we shall be painfully impressed with 
the state of our society and assembly rooms, where in fact we are 
poisoned with noxious serial contamination, which leaves us dull, list- 
less, depressed, and irritated, taking home with us the very seeds 
of our maladies. 

Ventilation is divisable into two systems, the methods of plenum 
and vacuum ; by the first, air is forced into the building by some me- 
chanical contrivance, and allowed to escape through apertures left for 
this object ; by the second, the building is either ventilated by the 
ascending force imparted to the air by increased temperature, when 
discharged from the lungs, or its exit is facilitated by an aperture 
left for ventilation in the upper part of the room, being led into the 
chimney or some shaft connected with the furnace, 

The objections against the vacuicm system of ventilation is that the 
atmosphere of apartments so ventilated will be kept slightly more 
rarified than the external air, and will therefore have a tendency to 
produce a lassitude and a relaxation of tone in those who breathe 
it, from the amount of oxygen being less in the same volume ; oa 



20 

the contrar}', air slightly condensed will have an opposite effect, and 
conduce to vigor and activity. 

The celebrated French author, M. Junot, says, on this subject : — 

" When a person is placed in condensed air, he breathes with in- 
creased facility, and feels as if the capacit}^ of his lungs was en- 
larged ; his respirations become deeper and less frequent ; he ex- 
periences, in the course of a short time, an agreeable glow in his 
chest, as if the pulmonary cells were becoming dilated with an elastic 
.spirit, while the whole frame receives at each inspiration a fresh 
vital impulse. The functions of the brain get excited, the imagina- 
.tion becomes vivid, and the ideas flow v/ith a delightful facility ; di- 
:gestion becomes more active, as after gentle exercise in the air, be- 
cause the secreting organs participate immediately in the increased 
energy of the arterial system." 

This statement and conclusions of so celebrated an author are 
highly instructive, and every thinking man must be filled with a 
4sensation of regret by perceiving that the great bulk of the com- 
munity should be debarred from participating in advantages so 
manifold. 

The habit of excluding fresh air is fostered by the craving for 
■warmth, and the deficiency of our heating appliances to keep up 
the necessary warmth, allowing a free circulation of fresh air. 

As fuel to the poor is a very expensive item, it is not to be expect- 
ed that they would sacrifice heat for ventilation, of the necessity of 
which they are mostly ignorant, but it is to be hoped that the neces- 
sity for the building of model houses for the poor and working classes 
will in time be found out, when they may enjoy the luxury of fresh 
air with the exclusion of cold in addition to cleanliness, pure water 
-and light. 



CHx\PTER II. 

The most i^erfect and desirable mode of obtaining the object 
-sought for, is by warming the walls and ceilings of our apartments 
by the aid of the products of combustion, passing in a hot state 
through compartments and tubes, whilst the fresh air necessary 
for ventilation should be admitted cold. According to the height of 
the apartments, the greater, upper part of the walls is used for the 
heating medium, and a part of the lower for ventilation^ For a single 
liouse, a fan kept in motion by a boy in a quarter of an'.hour out of 
every one to four hours, according to the^temperature of the^atmos- 



21 

phere, is sufficient to propel the heat from a furnace through any 
length of tubes or compartments which are made of progressive 
sizes, as the heat enters them, thereby obtaining additional surface 
as the product of combustion cools down, and radiating the heat on 
all sides of the room. By this means, of course, all heat will be used 
for the purpose intended, and nothing be spent in the chimney. 

The same fan will through branch pipes, propel pure air to the 
lower part of the walls through a netting of wire, perforated iron or 
wood, or strong canvass, by which means the air will enter the 
apartments in minute streams, purifying the same and escaping 
through an aperture in the top. The pipes in the cellar, passing 
through layers of ice, salt, or other like cooling agencies will admit 
of lowering the temperature in the hot season, to any degree. 

Suitable stop-cocks or dampers applied where the heat or the pure 
air enters the tubes, will admit of lowering or raising the tempera- 
ture. All saloons and apartments so warmed and ventilated are not 
subject to the vicissitudes and alternatives of temperature, inherent 
under any other system. The heat from the fire by day is endured 
all night, so that in the coldest weather the rooms are not chilly or 
uncomfortable in the morning before a fire is lighted, as is now the 
case. 

From the free admission of pure air all round the sides of the 
rooms, and the large extent of surface provided for its entrance, its 
diffusion is effected without the possibility of local draught, at the 
same time giviug a delightful freshness and elasticity to the atmos- 
phere, resenibling that of the open, calm, warm air. 

The fire-room being placed in the cellar in an arched room, or in a 
separate building, will ensure the whole building against any possi- 
ble accident by fire, and as to cleanli|iess, smoke, chimney-fire, dust, 
and other inconveniences at present experienced, the system leaves 
nothing to be desired, and in the main point, " eco'nom}'," it super- 
sedes every system yet introduced. 



'CHAPTER III. 

In introducing the system in large towns, pipes should be laid in 
the streets, and the compressed air being obtained by suitable steam- 
power should be driven through them, and taken through branch 
'pipes into the houses or different places, as required. A furnace 
should be erected in the cellar of the house, and the compressed air 
employed in feeding the fire with the necessary oxygen, would propel 
the heat through all the compartments and parts of the house in any 



22 

required direction, without losing a particle of it in any stack or 
€himne3^ The air for ventilating would, by the same means, be 
carried through every part of the house. 

The compressed air system is of such vital importance in large 
towns, that when known no town will be without it. Its importance 
will be seen at a glance, by pointing out some few of the numerous 
purposes to which it may be applied in addition to that of heating 
and ventilation, and the great benefits accruing therefrom : 

1. A power may be obtained for all small manufacturers, such as 
opticians, gold and silversmiths, gunsmiths, watchmakers, jewelers 
ivory-turners, and shopkeepers, for the purpose of showing their 
goods ; in fact, for all purposes where a small power is requisite. 

2. Melting and soldering, where the blow-pipe by hand or from the 
lungs is now used. 

3. Heat and light, by taking compressed air through hydro-car- 
bon when lighting by gas is desirable, but not obtainable, as for in- 
stance, in manufactories and railway stations in the countr}^ light- 
houses, &;c., when a good light could be obtained without erecting 
gas works, and whenever heat is required quickly and at intervals 
as for all household and laboratory purposes. 

4. For household boiling by common gas, the present light gas 
having been often tried for kitchen purposes but found to be too ex- 
pensive. By the aid of compressed air, mixing it with the gas, on 
the blow-pipe principle, a ten-fold heat will be obtained at a con- 
siderably cheaper rate, thereby making it preferable to be used 
instead of fuel. 

5. For heating water and fluids for manufacturing purposes, by 
.passing the hot products of combustion through the same. 

6. For drying purposes, such as for drying clothes in laundries, 
dyers' works, india rubber works, oil-cloth manufactories, chemical 
works, cabinet-makers, carriage manufacturers, instrument-makers, 
carpenters, &c. 

7. For heating the foot pavements and balconies of hotels, re- 
staurants, &c., by which the public might enjoy the open air in cold 
seasons. 

8. Drying new buildings and making them inhabitable in a few 
weeks, thereby preventing sickness of the inhabitants, and effecting 
a great saving to the landlords and proprietors in loss of rent. 

9. For getting rid of moisture on walls, and foul air in cellars, 
streets, &c. 

10. Prevention of condensation in all vessels where heat is em- 
ployed for steaming, heating or distilling, by introducing hot air- 
jackets instead of the present non-conducting means employed. 

11. For horticultural purposes, conservatories, winter gardens, 
hot houses, &c. 

12. For heating and ventilating ships, railroad cars, &c., in the 
most effective manner without causing any draught. 

The working out of the system will in time prove how innumera- 
ble the benefits are to be derived therefrom to all classes of society. 
In my humble opinion I can at present see nothing that is so likely 
to become of the same vital importance. 






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